Caring for fruit trees

With the surge of interest in the local food movement, more and more Torontonians are planting fruit trees in their yards, school grounds, or in their local parks. After all, why should we import fruit from around the world when we can grow it in our own communities? With proper care and nurturing, a fruit tree can feed us for up to 50 years or more.

The best time to plant an orchard is
now – especially considering it will take three to five years until you will
get a harvest. Plus, LEAF is offering new Edible Garden Kits, which include a
mix of fruit trees and bushes. But before you rush to order, remember that in
order to thrive, fruit trees need hands-on care.

Pruning

Spring pruning is the best thing you
can do to help your fruit tree thrive. Annual pruning, beginning the first year your tree is in the ground,
helps to shape the tree so the branches will grow strong enough to support the
fruit. It also encourages vigorous growth. If you’re in Toronto you can learn to
prune at Growing for Green’s
Beginners Fruit Tree Care Workshop on April 22, 2012.

Irrigation

Like native trees, fruit trees need
regular irrigation in the first two or three years after planting. For fruit
trees this is even more important because a stressed young tree will be
vulnerable to pests or disease that can stunt its growth. Water the roots (be
careful not to splash the trunk) twice a week during the growing season.
Consider circling a drip hose around the tree base and putting it on a timer so
you don’t forget.

Mulching

Each spring, spread quality compost
or well-rotted manure around the roots of your tree and
cover it with mulch. Growing
for Green mulches our orchard trees with alfalfa hay, which gives the trees an
extra boost of nutrition as it decomposes. Avoid mulching with wood chips
as they can draw much needed nitrogen out of the soil.

Thinning the Fruit

In the
first two to three years you will need to carefully remove all young fruit from
your tree so it can
reinvest its energy into its roots. From the third year on you can thin
judiciously, leaving
some fruit though not enough to weigh down the branches. Thinning in this way also
ensures the remaining fruit will grow to a significant size.

Learn More

Once you’ve learned the basics you
can sign up for an Intermediate
or Advanced Fruit Tree Care workshops and learn how to recognize signs of
disease, and how to graft or bud fruit
trees. At Ben
Nobleman Park Community Orchard we always welcome new volunteers, so come out
and get your hands dirty. Growing fruit trees is so
rewarding. Give them
a little love and nurturing, and they’ll reward us with abundant harvests for
generations to come. Most of all enjoy your new fruit
trees!

Susan Poizner is the Coordinator of
Growing for Green, one of the founders of Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard.
For more information and a list of upcoming fruit tree care workshops
visit www.communityorchard.ca or e-mail her at growingforgreen@gmail.com.